Page 35 of The Baby Hex (Mori’s Mementos #2)
Mori
I had heard of folks who took months long matingmoons but they were usually better able to communicate their wishes with those who checked in on them.
This wasn’t normal for either of them. A few days ago, Pierce told Medwin Moonscale to go fuck himself with his own tail.
To which, Crilus collapsed in laughter and started to describe how it might work.
There was something more at play here. At first, everyone blamed the elven magic that pulsated from inside the house.
Little was known about elven magic in general because those who practiced it kept its secrets close to their chests.
The tree growing through the beautiful kitchen floor was definitely elven magic.
I’d parsed through enough conversations with Crilus and Pierce to know that it was a gift from Crilus to Pierce who had a random craving for peach cobbler when there were no peaches in the house.
Only, I didn’t think that Crilus would’ve ensorcelled himself like that.
He loved being outside and he loved working at his bar.
He loved his friends and being the center of attention.
He also wouldn’t have missed so many appointments at his ‘upstairs job.’ I didn’t think Pierce would’ve done it on purpose either.
Perhaps, their magic mingled in such a way that it stopped them from clearly seeing the outside world.
“What about Sharon Claudis?” Pierce asked and Preston’s scent turned hopeful. They hadn’t asked about her since we first arrived at his family’s estate.
“We haven’t found her yet,” Teddy grunted through the door, and I hated myself for not speaking first. I could’ve made the announcement gentler. Could’ve cushioned it in a way that sounded more hopeful.
“She can’t be that hard to find,” Crilus said a second later. “Come back when you’ve found her. In the meantime, you’ve got to get some blood for Pierce.”
A car stopped at the front gate, and I looked from Preston to Teddy, trying to discern who had arrived now. Hopefully, it wasn’t Medwin again. They were going to be so embarrassed when they came back to their good senses about how they talked to him when he tried to lure them out of the house.
Pierce’s parents, Cion and Beck, looked at the big black Cadillac looking car.
Then Beck fiddled with his phone and the gate opened.
A few moments later, the car rolled through the gates and pulled to a stop not far inside.
A tall man exited the car. A bear by the smell of him.
Teddy glanced at me and Preston, silently inquiring if he was a Nightshade Bear or not.
As he grew closer, the answer was sort of.
Kodiak was a Nightshade Bear by birth but had left years ago to fight a war.
Upon arriving in Old New York, he met Silas, his true-mate and one of his current partners.
Kodiak was one of Crilus’s dads, even if he wasn’t one of his bio dads.
I bit my lip. Everyone had tried and I didn’t think Kodiak would have any more luck than anyone else who tried had.
Under his arm, he carried a meal prep dish big enough to feed two dragon shifters from.
He nodded at Cion and Beck, ignoring the rest of us as he stepped up to the door. Kodiak skipped knocking and said Crilus’s name softly. The mated pair whispered inside the house and one of them asked the other if they had pants on. The following ruffling around told me they probably didn’t.
“He comes from big magic too,” Beck said. “His grandmother, Miranda, was a force to be reckoned with.”
“Is he here to undo whatever they’ve done?” Teddy arched a brow.
“You’d have to ask him, but he asked if he could come and who am I to say no?” Beck shrugged. “Crilus is his kid.”
A second later, Crilus opened the door just enough for Kodiak to slip inside and I let out a long sigh of relief. I didn’t want to speak the words aloud and jinx it but the night before I had a vision of Crilus laying a little crow egg in a tiny little nest.
“You shouldn’t have told them we haven’t found her yet,” Preston said to Teddy.
“They deserve to know the truth,” Teddy shrugged.
“It’s not good for them to stay inside so long,” I shook my head.
“Everyone deals with trauma in their own way. My money is still on Crilus locking everything down so nothing can mess with his past.”
“The last time I saw Dern….” I started but Teddy shook his head.
“The last time you saw Dern, he pulled you out of your body and left it behind in Sharon Claudis’s basement.
He left you defenseless so you could throw some food at me and move some chairs around.
He left you defenseless. If he really wanted to help, he could’ve done those things himself,” Teddy rolled his eyes.
“You’re still mad that he shot you,” I sighed.
“No, I’m mad that the more reckless he is, the more you praise him.”
“I hope you know that I was never going to have a normal life no matter what I did. Neither was Othoni. Our lives were always going to be bundled up in spirit work and wrapped in magic.”
“Well, you all need to figure out a way not to stress out my pregnant mate,” Teddy said and glanced at his watch. “Speaking of which. I’m going home. Zinnia is about to wake up from her nap and Ni needs to rest.”
“Bye, Teddy,” Preston said, keeping his irritation with the dragon out of his voice.
If Crilus didn’t come out of the house soon everything was going to fall apart.